To what extent do schoolscapes (Brown 2012) of compulsory schools support the official indigenous language policy? In Norway, as in many other places, the educational system has been an integral part of the official language... [ view full abstract ]
To what extent do schoolscapes (Brown 2012) of compulsory schools support the official indigenous language policy? In Norway, as in many other places, the educational system has been an integral part of the official language policy towards indigenous languages, both under repressive colonization processes and during the recent times of emancipation and reconciliation. Hence, the goals of Norwegian education have shifted from suppression and erasure of Sámi to promotion of Sámi as part of the Norwegian cultural heritage. Today Sámi schools for Sámi children is the stronger model for supporting the minoritized languages. In addition, all children in Norwegian schools are expected to become familiar with Sámi issues like languages and culture.
Although today the Sámi languages of Norway have high legal recognition, there is mixed response in educational contexts (Solstad et al. 2012). This study contributes to the existing knowledge by focusing the presence of Sámi language and other semiotic resources in educational spaces in two schoolscapes in two municipalities in Northern Norway. Both are at the border of the Sámi core area, and one is also part of the Sámi language administrative area where Sámi and Norwegian have equal legislative status. The main data are pictures collected during ethnographic fieldwork in collaboration with members of the schools’ staff and also recordings of the conversation about the schoolscapes between the participants and the researcher (Laihonen & Szabo 2017). The data thus provides both emic and etic perspectives on and interpretations of the linguistic landscapes. The interpretational frame is language ideologies and linguistic citizenship.
Brown, K.D. 2012. The linguistic landscape of educational spaces. In D. Gorter, H.F. Marten, & L. Van Mensel (Eds.), Minority languages in the linguistic landscape, New York: Palgrave, 281–298.
Laihonen, P. & Szabó, T. 2017. Investigating visual practices in educational settings. Schoolscapes, language ideologies and organizational cultures. In M. Martin-Jones. & D. Marin (Eds.). Researching Multilingualism. Critical and Ethnographic Perspectives. Oxon, New York: Routledge, 121-138.
Solstad, K.J, Nygaard, V. & Solstad, M. 2012. Kunnskapsløftet 2006 Samisk – Mot en likeverdig skole? Bodø: Nordlandsforskning.
